Impeached London mayor reinstated by court order

LONDON, Ky. (FOX 56) — A judge has put Randall Weddle back in the mayor’s seat in London.

In early September, the city council voted unanimously to impeach him—and even appointed Tracie Handley as his replacement.

There was a standing ovation for Weddle at Monday’s council meeting as he sat back in the mayor’s seat for the first time since his impeachment.

In a ruling issued less than an hour before the meeting, special circuit court judge David Williams said the council failed to present enough grounds for removal and reinstated Weddle immediately. Weddle said he’s grateful to be back.

“Council did what they did, and we just want to move forward,” Weddle said. “Let’s put this behind us. Let’s just move forward and do what we were elected to do and, you know, continue to make London the biggest and brightest city in southeast Kentucky.”

Community members cheered for Weddle’s return while council members sat in silence.

Some say the inconsistency in their local government has caused instability and that this is a step in the right direction.

“You know, there’s a lot of hope going forward,” said Johnny Miller. “We’ve been scarred a little bit, and now we can actually see that maybe they can start to work together, and we can continue to move forward,” said Johnny Miller.

The judge’s ruling came unexpectedly prior to Monday’s meeting, which included motions to approve housing authority and ethics board appointments- actions judge Williams specifically advised the council not to move forward with while the mayor’s status was being appealed.

Katie Johnson said she appreciates that a third-party judge was able to make an objective decision.

“If this were solely left up to a council that was stacked against the mayor, we wouldn’t have seen the fairness that we’ve seen with a judge who hasn’t been involved in any of it,” Johnson said.

While this has been a trying time, Weddle said he’s excited and prepared to continue serving the people of London. He thanked the community for their continued support following the meeting.

“Continue to pray for us. Continue to pray that I’ll lead this community, with the heart of Christ, and we just get back to doing what we were elected today,” Weddle said.

An attorney for the city council said the members are disappointed by the judge’s decision and plan to file an appeal.